New York Giants: Olivier Vernon ruled out for Sunday

New York Giants outside linebacker Olivier Vernon has been ruled out for Sunday night’s game against the rival Dallas Cowboys.

A big loss for Big Blue. Announced by the New York Giants (via Twitter), Olivier Vernon has been ruled out for this Sunday. He’s been dealing with a high-ankle sprain since the preseason. Now, Vernon will be out for the second consecutive regular season game.

Coach Shurmur: Olivier Vernon (ankle) is out for Sunday…he hasn’t suffered any setbacks and we’re hopeful for next week. #NYGvsDAL

Head coach Pat Shurmur mentioned this week that the stud Giants linebacker would be practicing, despite the injury. However, Vernon did not practice on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. Shurmur thus announced to the media today that Vernon would not be good to go for Sunday night’s matchup in Dallas.

The Giants defense has looked much improved from last season. In the first regular season game Sunday, the Giants held the Jaguars to six possessions in the second half, all punts. However, this is still such a big loss for the Giants. With Jason Pierre-Paul now in Tampa Bay, it’s safe to say OV is the captain of the front seven and one of the more experienced players on this defense.

Now for the second consecutive week, the Giants will be rotating players such as rookie Lorenzo Carter, veteran Connor Barwin and veteran Kareem Martin in at the outside linebacker spots. With this new 3-4 defensive scheme from coordinator James Bettcher, the Giants are able to have the flexibility to rotate each one of them.

The Giants will evaluate Vernon in practice next week. However, a high-ankle sprain could take two to eight weeks to recover from. Hopefully, he’ll be ready to go once the Giants’ Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans rolls around on Sunday, Sept. 23.

Big Blue kicks off against the Cowboys this Sunday night in the primetime slot on NBC, 8:20 p.m. EST.